The Presales Workshop

I knew Santa was in Presales...

Thank you for all the support this year in the first 12 episodes of Presales Workshop. Here's a familiar story with a special Presales twist. Have a safe and wonderful holiday season and we'll see you next time...in 2024...in the Workshop!

Thanks to Grand Project for the background music, found on Pixabay: https://pixabay.com/music/christmas-magic-christmas-126686/

Putting in the work for prep can be arduous, but it's a leading indicator of success for your opportunities!

Download the Internal Meeting Prep Tool here. Drop a comment below or DM me with questions.

When you're in "the zone", productivity skyrockets and work flows effortlessly. But out of the zone? Effectiveness falters and value suffers.
In this Workshop I discuss how I used Smart Timing as a Presales manager to improve effectiveness and productivity. You can use this as an individual contributor or across your team.
Download the Smart Timing Tool: https://bit.ly/3EkbEzt
Originally inspired by 2008 article from productivity expert Charlie Gilkey: https://www.productiveflourishing.com/heat-mapping

Planning is an essential part of a Presales workflow.

To help avoid bad prep (or no prep at all) and make the most of the time I have with my teammates, I've reintroduced Inversion Thinking to my own process. Inversion Thinking is a powerful planning tool that can help identify potential blockers and issues in our planning which may not be obvious at first glance. It's also a great way to disrupt the bias that creeps into all our selling motions!

In this Workshop I discuss Inversion Thinking, how it's useful in Presales, and walk through examples of how thinking backwards can help to plan for demos and customer engagements.

Download the Inversion Thinking Tool: https://bit.ly/47xmfV8

For more info on Inversion Thinking:

James Clear: https://jamesclear.com/inversion

Ryan Holiday: https://ryanholiday.net/practice-the-stoic-art-of-negative-visualization/

Google: https://www.google.com/search?q=inversion+thinking

Few things are worse than a demo gone sideways! Use the Demo Agenda Tool to build rock-solid demo agendas to keep your demos on track!
In this video I discuss demo agendas, why they're important, and whiteboard an easy-to-use tool to build your own agendas.

Download the Demo Agenda Tool: https://bit.ly/3rJhsj0

In this video version of the PW podcast I talk about The Reset Tool, something that's helped me out of the nightmare of crazy schedules, work overload, and missed deadlines.

In Presales we're often forced to make on-the-fly adjustments to our talk tracks. Use the Three Bears Tool to organize, update, and implement talking points that are the right duration for any situation!
Download the Three Bears Tool template here: https://bit.ly/3oAa4Fn
Check out Munir Hussein on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/munirhussein/) and the origin story of how he uses this approach to refine his own messaging: https://bit.ly/3WHIxOT.

A Presales process is a must-have best practice for any presales organization, and helps align your presales efforts with the sales process. In this podcast I discuss what a presales process is, key elements of a presales process, and talk through 2 examples of how a presales process can create alignment, reduce risk, and accelerate opportunities in the sales process.
You can download the Presales Process Template here: https://bit.ly/44TjQCW

For a time I wasn't in Presales, but on the other side of the table buying software. And being a buyer is hard!!

As a buyer I had quite a few perspectives having nothing to do with functionality where I was desperately looking for help and value. The moment someone on the other side of the table helped me find value was the moment I truly leaned in.

But I didn't always voice my perspective directly, and that's where Presales can help engage and offer up moments of value.

Download the Buyer Perspective Tool where I share examples of my own buyer perspectives, and ways Presales can help address them: https://bit.ly/44kLR5K. Included is also a blank template for you to develop your own responses to your buyer's perspectives!

Responding to RFPs doesn't have to feel like a zero sum game for Presales. Using a RFP evaluation framework and tool can help drive collaboration across teams and quantify the effort and outcomes.